The university, an almost millennia-old institution, has evolved over time, incorporating new missions. It began as a space for teaching; several centuries later it incorporated research as a mission and, recently, has recognized a “third mission”: relate in diverse ways with society by transferring your knowledge to it.

In particular, the Latin American university early incorporated university extension into its functions, associated with comparatively weak sectors. Moving towards sustainable and inclusive human development, the major objective of our time, faces growing inequality based on knowledge, which particularly challenges higher education institutions.

The "universities for development"They try to reverse it by encouraging many more people to study at the university, promoting that research agendas incorporate problems made invisible for not having market demand but great social relevance, and cooperating with the most varied actors in the search for solutions to collective problems.

The universities for development They can thus be characterized by their comprehensive commitment to the democratization of knowledge. He CILAC Forum 2018 It calls, then, to think together about this new university that can provide answers to the challenges of the new era.